Thursday, January 21, 2010

The Balvenie 17yo Sherry Oak

The Balvenie Sherry Oak   balvenie-17-sherry-oak
Aged 17 years
Single Speyside malt Scotch whisky
43% alc/vol
$95

I picked this one up on sale for considerably less than the $95 sticker price, and a bargain it was, too!

“Sherry Oak.”  As if the Balvenie line weren’t sherried enough!  Well, play to your strengths, I suppose…

Maple syrup (in both flavor and texture) and brown sugar.  Vanilla in spades.  Creamy, thick, and smooth.  Warming and comfortable.

Yeah, I know, that’s not much in the way of tasting notes…to be honest, there were no surprises here.  If you’re at all familiar with Balvenie’s work, you’ll know exactly what to expect from a Balvenie called “Sherry Oak.”  And it delivers.  It’s a lovely drink, but I don’t know…heavily sherried Scotches are a dime a dozen, and there are several out there that are cheaper and no less satisfying.

3 comments:

o-mom said...

What more can anyone say???

Antti said...

But please give us an example of a heavily sherried scotch that is cheaper and at least as satisfying as Balvenie Sherry Oak!

I've been more unto Islays lately, but I recall that some years ago I stumbled upon a bottle of Doublewood Balvenie and it was quite nice.

Will said...

Antti: There are a bunch of them. Macallan 12yo is the most obvious one. Macallan has a lovely cask strength offering as well. And then there's Aberlour's a'bunadh, which is just WONDERFUL.

The Balvenie Double Wood is one of my favorites. I'm into Islays lately as well. Ardbeg 10 is my current favorite. I hope to get around to blogging that one soon!

Thanks for the comment!

-Will